


When the Floodwater Rises

by ICarryDeathOnMyWings



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst, Babies, Character Study, Crawly is a Dad, Crawly is protective, Crawly protects children, Crawly/Crowley centric, Dad!Crawly, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Modern times, Noah's Ark, Set in the time of the FLood, flash back? kinda?, i'm sure that i'm not, mentioned children dying, tried to be historically accurate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22729747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICarryDeathOnMyWings/pseuds/ICarryDeathOnMyWings
Summary: Crawly adopts seven kids during the time of the flood. He raises them, gets them out into the world as a father does, but time doesn't stop for anyone and he needs to move on eventually.(I couldn't find a good way to summarize this, I'm sorry)
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & Aziraphale
Comments: 3
Kudos: 58





	When the Floodwater Rises

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to be at least a little historically accurate but I know that I wasn't. I'm really quite proud of this fic so I hope you all enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

They were just children, and before Crawly had even finished his conversation with Aziraphale, his mind was made up. He couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t let children die. The fact that She was behind this, and not Satan or one of the many demons he knew, was mind-blowing. These children didn’t know any better, they couldn’t know any better and they were being punished for the sins of their parents. Aziraphale didn’t seem as upset as he was. This was disturbing to the demon because he couldn’t understand how an angel could care less than him. How could Aziraphale not question? Crawly realized, not for the first time, that asking questions like ‘why should we allow children to die?’ was probably what caused him to fall in the first place. Crawly understood that Aziraphale needed to divorce himself from some of the emotions that came along with being a principality but to just go along with this? It was absurd. 

He knew that he would have to act fast as the rain was already starting to collect in puddles on the ground. It was a dessert, it wasn't used to having so much water to soak up. Luckily, people were gathered at the base of the Ark already, curious as to what would be happening. They didn’t understand, not like he did and his heart ached for them. It was surprisingly easy to find parents who were willing to give their children up to him. Perhaps it was the lies he told them, that, in the end, convinced them to let go. They weren’t terrible lies. He told them that he was an angel there to protect the children of the world, which they believed. 

One woman, who was holding a baby that couldn’t have been more than a month old, just stood there quietly after he had given her his talk. She looked so impossibly sad, “You’re taking her?” She asked, looking up at his yellow eyes, “I don’t understand.” Crawly already had a small group of children huddled around his legs at this point, “I know that this is difficult, but I promise you I’ll keep her safe. We’re going to the Ark… once the storm passes, I’ll bring her back to you. This is just a precaution, to ensure their safety in case anything goes wrong.”  
She looked down at her baby who was bundled up, asleep in her arms. Slowly, she raised her head to look up at him, eyes shining with unshed tears, “It’s not going to be okay, is it? I’m never going to see her again?” 

Crawly didn’t want to upset her further but he also didn’t want to lie any more than he already had, not when it wouldn’t bring her any comfort, “No,” He said gently, “No, I’m sorry.” 

The woman choked on a sob and thrust the bundled up baby into his arms, “Keep her safe.” She whispered before turning and leaving quickly, her form soon disappearing in the crowd. Crawly looked at the baby in his arms who started to squirm and cry loudly. He thought to himself, as he gently put his finger on her temple to make her drift off to sleep, that if he wasn’t already demon, he’d have a one-way ticket right to hell. He looked down, taking stock of the kids he had. There were seven, including the baby now in his arms. The oldest could be no more than five, maybe six. He swallowed, “Alright, let’s go then. Storm’s getting worse.” He started corralling them towards the ship. None of them understood what was going on or why they were being separated from their parents so a few of them started sniffling, eyes watering and tears falling down their cheeks to mix with the rain falling from the sky. 

He ushered them along quickly, using minor miracles to make sure that no one was paying attention to them as they boarded the ship. Their crying was getting more and more intense as time went by. Crawly was starting to get antsy, “Sh, sh, little ones.” He said quietly, “Please, be quiet. 

He had snuck them along with the animals, ducking behind the bigger ones when there were people nearby. Even though the kids were crying, it wasn't loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the animals. Crawly counted this as a blessing or... whatever it was demons counted. Eventually, Crawly found what he had been looking for. There was a very small room in the back of the ship, only one level above the animals. The only way to access it was by a short ladder. Crawly imagined that it was supposed to be for storage but that it had been forgotten about in the hustle to make sure everything got on board safely. 

He had no food or water but he figured he could easily perform any miracles he needed to. That was the good thing about Hell, they didn’t check up on that sort of thing. He looked around at the children he had been able to save… or at least hoped he had saved. As soon as he sat down, the children were pressing close against him, so scared and worried about what would happen next. He took a deep breath, looking over their frightened faces and started talking to them. He told them about the creation of the Universe, about building the stars, Adam and Eve. They slowly fell asleep against him, their faces relaxing into a peaceful slumber. Once they were all asleep, he murmured, “You’ll dream only about good things,” He didn’t want them to have any nightmares, this journey was enough of one for them and he didn’t even know how long this would last. 

That’s how things went for forty days and nights. The boat was very rocky, sometimes knocking them over, even when they were sitting. They spent most of their days clustered around Crawly as he told many stories. To them, they were just that, stories, but to Crawly he was retelling his life up to this point. He had never recanted any of his life to anyone, not even Aziraphale but these kids wanted to know everything, even if they thought it was all pretend. When they weren’t listening to his stories, they were playing make-believe with each other or eating. Crawly made sure that they had food to eat and things to do when he no longer wanted to tell stories and peaceful night sleeps.

In his opinion, that was the best thing he could have done for them, making sure that they were never afraid of sleeping at night. 

There were only a few times where things had gone poorly. Once, one of the boys was standing up when the boat rocked particularly hard, which sent him to the floor. The moment the boy’s knees made contact with the wooden floorboard, he had started screaming and crying. Crawly had been so scared that they were going to be found but, luckily, no one ever came. It had been difficult, trying to calm the boy while also keeping an ear out for any noises that might indicate people walking below them. He felt useless because the best he could do for the child was console him. After all, he didn’t have the healing powers that angels did. So, Crawly just held him close, rocking him in his arms and even singing to calm him down. 

Other than that, there was the usual crying that babies and children do, they were bored or hot or tired or hungry. Crawly rolled with the punches that came with watching over seven kids for forty days.  
As the flood slowly receded, Crawly was left with a predicament: what was he going to do with these children? Their families were gone so he couldn’t bring them back plus he had grown quite attached to them. He thought about what he would do all while the animals were being brought off of the ship. Even once there were no more sounds, they stayed for an extra day to make sure they wouldn’t get caught by people coming back to look for things they had forgotten, Crawly contemplated his options. On the forty-first day after boarding the Ark, the group of eight walked out into the sunlight. 

Crawly had missed the sun. He had missed the way it had felt against his skin, warming him and making him feel whole once again. He wondered for only a moment if it was because he had been a snake but he pushed it away. All the kids were whining and hiding their faces in his robes as the sun was much too harsh for them to handle after so long in darkness. Crawly let them take their time. They weren’t like him and he knew it. With most of them pressed against his legs (save the baby girl he held against his chest), he made the decision, “Let’s go find a place to live.” He was going to raise them. He would help them as best he could, provide for them. They had spent too long together for him to give them up and, he realized with a jolt, standing there on the deck of the Ark with all these little hands gripping at him, that he thought of them as his children. 

Crawly made sure that they were well off, had money, were raised right and married into good families. He was proud of them, which surprised him the first few times he felt it. He didn’t know he could feel anything but they proved him wrong. He loved them, was proud of them, he even felt pain when they got hurt. The oldest, Aristo, who had been five when the Flood happened, was the first to leave the house. Which meant, he was also the first to have children. 

Crawly became a grandfather. The first time Aristo came home with his baby, a beautiful girl, Crawly had cried, telling him she was beautiful and he would raise her wonderfully. 

He tried to be involved with his children and grandchildren’s lives. Though, he didn’t want to raise too much suspicion. He knew that there were some people out there that would realize he didn’t age and ask questions. They might even try to attack the family he had worked so hard to raise, so he kept a distance but delivered presents, gave them money and visited when he could.

Everything happened so fast then. Life expectancy was short, people had children young so before he knew it there were great-grandchildren, though he didn’t involve himself much with them. He needed to draw the line at some point because if he didn't, down the road who knew how many children he would be looking over and by then would they even know who he was? He needed to decide for himself where to cut things off. 

There was absolutely nothing that could have prepared him for his children passing away.

There was a time when he only went and visited them when he felt that he needed to, maybe once or twice a year. Athanasia, his youngest, had announced that she was pregnant with her third child during his last visit. He had been overjoyed for her, and even happier that they would be adding yet another child to the family. Nothing brought him more joy than spending time with his grandchildren. As that visit came to a close, he told her he would be back right towards the end of her pregnancy so that he could help around the farm if needed, or even with the other kids. She had smiled, told him she loved him and couldn’t wait to see him again. 

As promised, he returned when she should have been nearing her ninth month. As he walked up the dirt path to the house where she and her husband lived, something felt off. Crawly could see that two children were running around. He could see her husband and even a woman who was out front hanging laundry, but as he got closer he realized what was wrong. That woman was not his daughter. She was pregnant but only two, maybe three months along. Never in his long existence had he been angrier. He stormed up to Athanasia’s husband and picked him up off the ground by his shirt, “Where is she!?” He shouted desperately, “What have you done to her?!”

The man yelped in surprise and gripped Crawly’s hands, “She died! Please!” His legs swung around wildly, trying to find purchase. Crawly blinked a few times, “What?” He croaked. He realized distantly that he was still holding the man up and set him down a little rougher than he should have. The man coughed a few times, then went on to tell Crawly that she had gotten sick nearly halfway through her pregnancy. They had tried everything they could to save them both but in the end, it was enough and both mother and child had perished.  
Crawly had never felt greater pain, not even when he was cast out of Heaven. He bent forward, hand going to his stomach like he was sick… maybe he was. Tears streamed down his cheeks, even when he tried to get them to stop they wouldn’t, they just kept coming, not unlike the storm that had brought him and Athanasia together not so many years ago. 

For a long time after that, Crawly blamed himself. What if he had visited more often? Could he have been able to help? Of course, there was no way of knowing but if he had been there then at least he would have gotten closure and he wouldn’t have so many unanswered questions floating around his head. 

After that, it felt like his children died quickly, or maybe it was because he was aware of it. He thought that maybe it would get easier but it never did. Aristo lived the longest, all the way to the age of seventy-five, and fathered many, many children. Once Aristo passed, Crawly removed himself from totally from the families of all seven of his children. As it was, he wasn’t involved in the lives of most of his great-grandchildren and even the youngest grandchildren he had distanced himself from. He had ached when he said goodbye to them for the last time. It felt like he was losing everything he had ever loved. Despite the white-hot pain that set in his chest as he walked away into the desert again, he knew this was the right decision. He couldn’t risk staying longer, even if had wanted to. He was lucky Heaven or Hell had never found out about what he was doing because he was sure that they would’ve killed them all. He couldn’t have handled that, just losing them naturally was hard enough. 

He had never told anyone about what had happened during those years. Even as Crawly, eventually Crowley, and Aziraphale grew closer, he didn’t tell him anything. It was a secret for just him. That was until after the Apocalypse that never happened. He decided that now since they were together officially he should open up a little bit more. He sat down and told Aziraphale everything. About each of his children, their grandkids and what happened to every one of them. Aziraphale had listened with rapt attention, like every one of Crowley’s words were to be savored and appreciated. When he was done speaking, it had felt like a weight was lifted off of him. He was surprised that Aziraphale didn’t say too much, instead, saying that he couldn’t imagine what Crowley had gone through and that he was very brave to have done such things. Crowley didn’t see it that way. After that they moved on to different conversations and Crowley didn’t bring it up again. There was no need, in his opinion.

A month later, Crowley and Aziraphale were lounging in the bookshop, not doing anything in particular, “Would you like to go to lunch today?” Aziraphale asked with a smile. Crowley wasn’t really in the mood but he figured he might as well, any time spent with Aziraphale was good time, “Sure thing, angel.” 

Turns out lunch was on the other side of London in a ‘little place I just heard about’. Crowley had rolled his eyes but could never say no to the angel, even if he wanted to. The little place turned out to be a hole-in-the-wall café that had amazing sandwiches and tea, according to Aziraphale. Crowley didn’t get anything, despite Aziraphale’s cajoling. The woman behind the counter had dark skin, long, jet black hair, and had a Londoner’s accent. Crowley didn’t pay her much mind, not until Aziraphale leaned forward closer to him like he was about to tell him a huge secret, “She’s a descendant, you know.” He whispered, eyes wide as he looked at his partner across the table, “Of one of your children. I don’t know which, it was too hard to go back and sort it all out, but I know she’s from one of them.”

Immediately, Crowley’s head snapped towards the girl who looked tired where she stood behind the counter. It was a slow day in the shop so maybe she didn’t have much to do, “How did you-“ “Don’t worry about that.” Aziraphale waved it off like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Crowley was staring now, it had to be weird for the girl behind the counter because she kept glancing over at them with a weird look on her face. Eventually, he tore his eyes away from her to look back to the angel who was grinning at him, “She isn’t the only one. There are thousands, Crowley.” Aziraphale put his hand on the demon’s, “She was just the closest one. I thought you’d want to see her.” 

Crowley nodded numbly, “Y-yeah-“ He could feel the tickle in the back of his throat that often came with tears. It was an unfamiliar feeling now, he was pretty sure that the last time he cried was when Aristo had passed away. He was grateful for his sunglasses because they were stopping Aziraphale from seeing the unshed tears gathering in his eyes, “Uh, thanks, angel.” He took a deep breath to calm down so that he could stop himself from crying.

After that, he popped in to see this woman maybe once a month. He couldn’t go in more often than that our of fear that she would catch on to something and have him arrested or some other extreme reaction humans tended to have. He learned her name was Anna, that her great-grandparents had come from the Middle East. He didn’t learn too much about her outside of the small facts she’d give him while getting tea for Aziraphale (never for himself). Eventually, he started leaving her bigger and bigger tips, feeling the same need to protect and help her that he had for one of her ancestors. It was about a year later when he decided that once again, ties needed to be broken.

He walked into the shop, hands shoved into his pockets. She was there still, he knew she wanted to get away, to travel the world while she was still young. When she saw him, her face lit up, “Crowley! It’s been a while.” It was true, he hadn’t gone to visit her in probably three months. “So sorry about that, Anna.” He looked over the menu, pretending he was going to be getting anything different than he normally did, “I’m afraid though that I won’t be back again. I’m moving, you see. Don’t like to stay in the same place for very long-“ He took a break in his sentence to order the tea for Aziraphale, this time he even threw in the sandwich he knew the angel loved. Anna had a small, thoughtful frown on her lips, “That sounds like an adventure. Where are you off to?” 

“Ah, haven’t made my mind up yet. I’ll hop on a plane and end up somewhere….” He watched her move around behind the counter as she made his order. It was another slow day so he was the only one there, “Sounds terrifying.”

He shrugged a shoulder, “I’ll have Aziraphale with me.” She handed him his tea and sandwich, “Oh! Yes, tell him I say hi!” Crowley took the items she gave him, “Anna, I have something for you.” He tugged out an envelope and handed it over to her, “Don’t open it just yet, not until you leave work today.” He smiled at her, “I’ll see you around if I ever come back to London.” She tilted her head, looking at the envelope that was not in her hands. When she picked her head up, Crowley was already out the door and heading to the bookstore. She couldn’t say no to the fifteen-thousand pound check he had just handed her if he wasn’t there when she opened it. With that, he knew that she would be at least a little more okay than she had been. It felt good to be able to help her, like he was taking care of his family. It had been a feeling that he was surprised to find, he missed quite a bit. 

He had already made up his mind before he even got to the bookshop. With tea in one hand, a sandwich in the other, he walked into the shop knowing perfectly well that there was no one other than Aziraphale around, “Angel!” He called, “How do you feel about adoption?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If you see any mistakes or think I should add tags let me know! As alwyas, leave a comment and kudos if you liked it ^^


End file.
